Every year, our big holiday meal outreaches are some of our most popular volunteer opportunities. On Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Saturday before Easter we deliver thousands of free meals to people in need all around the Des Moines area . . . and we also serve a free holiday meal at our Hope Cafe.
And we definitely couldn’t pull off these special events without amazing volunteers! But volunteering isn’t the only way to help out this holiday season. Scroll for details about food donations and Christmas gift bags, too!
Online registration for Thanksgiving 2026 is open now! Read on for instructions . . .
Register to Volunteer for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving volunteer registration is open now! Timeframes vary by role, but most take place in the morning. Volunteer opportunities include:
- Food Donation Day (Wednesday, Nov. 25)—help us accept thousands of pounds of donated food from generous community members.
- Thanksgiving Meal Packaging + Serving (Thursday, Nov. 26)—help us assemble and package thousands of meals to be delivered around Des Moines, plus serve the onsite meal at Hope Cafe.
- Thanksgiving Meal Delivery Driver Teams (Thursday, Nov. 26)—together with your family or friends, deliver meals around Des Moines. We’ll provide your list of addresses in advance. You just need a vehicle large enough to hold around 20 paper sacks and GPS.
Please note: Onsite volunteers must be 13 or older. If you have younger kids, please consider serving as a meal delivery driver team.
How to Register:
If this is your first time volunteering for a holiday meal outreach: Your first step is to fill out this application. It will ask for your basic info and it has a spot where you can indicate which specific volunteer roles you’re interested in (packaging meals, serving as a delivery driver team, washing dishes, etc.) Later, you’ll receive an email confirming your placement.
If you’ve volunteered for a past holiday meal outreach: You can skip the application by using the credentials you received recently for our new volunteer platform (Mission Tracker). Use the provided username and password to log onto the new site and sign up for an open position
Thanksgiving Food Donation Day
It takes a lot of food to serve and deliver 4,000+ meals on Thanksgiving. Plus, we serve 650+ meals every day of the year!
You can help out by donating some of our most-needed items during our annual Food Donation Day on the day before Thanksgiving—Wednesday, November 25, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Hope Ministries Bethel Mission (1310 6th Avenue in Des Moines).
Check back soon for this year’s food donation list.
Christmas Gift Bags
At Hope Ministries we want each person to feel valued and loved! You can make this holiday season special for the individuals and families in our care by providing one or more Christmas bags filled with personal and practical gifts.
We’ll provide a gift list (estimated $35-50) and you do the shopping! You can also include a personal note.
More details and sign-up link available soon . . .